''Portrait from Life'' (also known as ''Lost Daughter'' and ''Journey into Yesterday''; U.S. title: ''The Girl in the Painting'') is a 1948 British

drama film In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. The drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular ...

directed by

Terence Fisher Terence Fisher (23 February 1904 – 18 June 1980) was a British film director best known for his work for Hammer Film Productions, Hammer Films. He was the first to bring gothic horror alive in full colour, and the sexual overtones and explic ...

and starring

Mai Zetterling Mai Elisabeth Zetterling (; 24 May 1925 – 17 March 1994) was a Swedish film director, novelist and actress. Early life Zetterling was born in Västerås, Sweden to a working class family. She started her career as an actor at the age of 17 at ...

Robert Beatty Robert Rutherford Beatty (19 October 1909 – 3 March 1992) was a Canadian actor who worked in film, television and radio for most of his career and was especially known in the UK. Early years Beatty was born in Hamilton, Ontario, the son of ...

and

Guy Rolfe Guy Rolfe (born Edwin Arthur Rolfe, 27 December 1911 – 19 October 2003) was a British character actor. He was best known for portraying villains. Early life Born in Kilburn, London, Edwin Arthur "Guy" Rolfe was descended from Thomas Rolfe, ...

Plot

A British Army officer, Major Lawrence, is on leave from being stationed in occupied Germany just after WW2 when he sees a painting of a beautiful young girl called Hildegard in a London art gallery. While viewing the painting he is approached by an old man, Professor Franz Menzel, who escaped from Nazi Germany in the 1930s leaving his family behind and claims to be the young girl's father. Major Lawrence agrees to search for the young girl when he returns to Germany. On returning to Germany and after a long search Major Lawrence eventually tracks down the young girl but she is suffering from amnesia and living with a German couple who claim to be her parents. As Lawrence investigates, the circumstances of the young girl's past become more complicated.

Main cast

as Hildegard / Lidia *

as Campbell Reid *

as Major Lawrence *

Herbert Lom Herbert Charles Angelo Kuchačevič ze Schluderpacheru (11 September 1917 – 27 September 2012), known professionally as Herbert Lom (), was a Czech-British actor with a career spanning over 60 years. His cool demeanour and precise, elegan ...

as Fritz Kottler Hendlemann *

Patrick Holt Patrick Holt (31 January 1912 – 12 October 1993) was an English film and television actor. Biography Born Patrick Parsons in Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, Holt spent some of his childhood in India with his uncle, after which he was sent to ...

as Ferguson *

Arnold Marlé Arnold Marlé (15 September 1887 – 21 February 1970) was a German actor who appeared largely in British films and television programmes. Stage work His theatre work included appearances on the West End theatre, London stage, and a year-and-a-h ...

as Professor Franz Menzel * Sybille Binder as Eitel Hendlemann *

Thora Hird Dame Thora Hird (28 May 1911 – 15 March 2003) was an English actress. In a career spanning over 70 years, she appeared in more than 100 films, as well as many television roles, becoming a household name and a British institution. Hird w ...

as Mrs. Skinner *

Gerard Heinz Gerard Heinz (born Gerhard Hinze; 2 January 1904 – 20 November 1972) was a German actor. Heinz was born in Hamburg, Germany and later moved to Britain, where he changed his name and became a British citizen. He appeared in almost 60 films (in ...

as Heine * Yvonne Owen as Helen * Philo Hauser as Hans Ackermann * Pete Murray as Lieutenant Keith * Gordon Bell as Captain Roberts *

Nelly Arno Nelly Aronowsky (15 July 1892 – September 1966), known professionally as Nelly Arno, was a German-born British theatre, film and radio actress. Aronowsky was born in Karlsruhe to Abraham Aronowsky and Fanny (''née'' Maysel). She had a yo ...

as Anna Skutetsky *

Cyril Chamberlain Cyril Chamberlain (8 March 1909 – 30 April 1974) was an English film and television actor. He appeared in a number of the early '' Carry On'', '' Doctor'' and '' St. Trinian's'' films. Chamberlain's first film appearance was in the 1936 Mich ...

as Supervisor * Betty Lynne as Interpreter * Anthony Steel as Bridegroom * John Blythe as Club Manager

Production

Anthony Steel has one of his earliest film appearances.

Reception

Critical

The Monthly Film Bulletin The ''Monthly Film Bulletin'' was a periodical of the British Film Institute published monthly from February 1934 until April 1991, when it merged with '' Sight & Sound''. It reviewed all films on release in the United Kingdom, including those wi ...

'' wrote: "The superb acting of Mai Zetterling really makes this film; she acts with emotion and feeling, and lives the part ...The other four main characters are also very competent. Although the story is fantastic in places, it is interesting and contains little humorous touches, and realistic glimpses of camp life to display the effects of good direction and production. The lighting, camerawork and musical illustrations are all good drama, thrills and suspense, together with sufficient relief." ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'' wrote, "the new picture at the Little Carnegie stems from an intriguing idea, and there are several very effective sequences in the drama, plus a fine performance by the Swedish actress, Mai Zetterling. Indeed, if the whole of ''The Girl in the Painting'' were as good as its parts, the posting of this notice would be a much more pleasant task. Too much, rather than too little, story and plodding direction are the principal faults"

Allmovie AllMovie (previously All Movie Guide) is an online database with information about films, television programs, television series, and screen actors. , AllMovie.com and the AllMovie consumer brand are owned by RhythmOne. History AllMovie was ...

described it as "an over-orchestrated "guilty pleasure" from the glory days of British romance pictures."

Box office

Producer's receipts were £93,000 in the UK and £43,900 overseas. According to Rank's own records the film had made a profit of £4,100 for the company by December 1949.Chapman p 70

References

External links

* {{Terence Fisher 1948 films Films directed by Terence Fisher British drama films 1948 drama films Films with screenplays by Muriel Box Films with screenplays by Sydney Box Films set in Germany Films set in London Films set in 1946 Films about amnesia Films scored by Benjamin Frankel British black-and-white films 1940s British films